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In this German-language video, we see a batch of Audi engineers wiring up an A3 Cabriolet with a network of small cameras. The goal? To help identify where and how stone martens – small, ferret-like animals – attack cars. The idea is to observe the animals' behavior around the vehicles, see where they go, what they chew on, and work to develop solutions.

So why go to all this trouble? Cars and trucks are easily the single-most complex consumer good, and they're subject to the widest variety of conditions, regulations and usage cases that one could possibly imagine. They also come with very high consumer expectations for reliability. Thus, it's up to automakers to vet their vehicles for just about every possible scenario and threat – including weasels. And if that means Audi has to go hire Walter Simbeck, animal trainer to the stars, and string up a bunch of GoPros on an A3, well, they're game.

In speaking with Autoblog, Mark Dahncke, senior product manager at Audi of America said it best:

"In Europe it is a common problem to have wild, ferret-like animals crawl into the engine bay of cars while parked and idle and bite through brake/power steering and other lines/hoses. Audi Deutschland's quality control is seeing where the ferrets go within the engine compartment, which lines they chew on ... They will then look to use different materials that a ferret doesn't like biting into. Looks totally random, but it is an issue in Germany and Europe in general."

As it turns out, when engineers and owners refer to a car having gremlins, it's not always metaphorical.

We drive the 2016 Audi A6

The Audi A6 has long been one of the best mid-level luxury cars for sale in the United States. For 2016, it's back and better than ever with a new, more powerful engine, a much-improved new transmission and more style both inside and out. We traveled to Germany to hit some high-speed roads to see what Audi's newest A6 is really made of.





Tesla delays production of Model X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in his letter to investors that he did not want to "bring a product to market that does not delight customers." Sounds about right to us, and what it basically means is that the California-based electric-vehicle manufacturer needs a little more time to get all the details of its upcoming Model X just right. Expect to see production cars in the third quarter of 2015.



Jaguar to unveil all-wheel-drive F-Type in LA

We're pretty smitten with the Jaguar F-Type, in both Coupe and Convertible incarnations. Will all-wheel drive make it even better? We're going to soon find out, as the British-based, Indian-owned automaker has announced plans to unveil an F-Type at the LA Auto Show later this month with power spread to all four wheels. Stay tuned for more.




Top Stories

• Chrysler almost smothered the Hellcat before it lived
• Audi A9 Concept teased in video, new design chief tells us what to expect in LA
• GM faces $2B hit if bankruptcy protection provision fails

"For sure, these two companies have a natural attraction to each other." –John Krafcik

Honestly, this is really hard to even imagine, but what if the Volkswagen Group merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles? Aside from being easily the largest automaker on the planet, it'd bring the following makes under one roof: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Fiat, Fiat Professional Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Jeep, Maserati and Ram. Product overlap aside, this arrangement would, in the estimation of former Hyundai Motor America boss and current TrueCar President John Krafcik, be "highly profitable."

"This is an absolutely brilliant combination," Krafcik told Bloomberg at an event in Detroit this week. "For sure, these two companies have a natural attraction to each other."

Krafcik's statements hinge on the fact that, at least in the US, FCA has a booming SUV and pickup business, courtesy of Jeep and Ram, while the Volkswagen Group's Audi and Porsche tie down the premium business which is complemented by a strong mainstream lineup.

Now, the VW/FCA tieup has been periodically rumored for some time, and the two manufacturers have gone as far as denying any official talks. Still, Krafcik, who called his thoughts an "academic exercise," did add that a merger is "just such a natural possibility."

"It makes so much sense," Krafcik said. "You get a pretty interesting hypothetical company that covers all those bases pretty well."

While Krafcik makes good points, there's real potential for serious product overlap. How do you stratify 17 different brands? Lamborghini and Porsche already have a contentious relationship within the Volkswagen empire, what would happen when notoriously independent Ferrari is added to the mix? And Maserati?

Let's have our own academic exercise, Autoblog readers. Of the 17 brands currently built by FCA and VAG, which would you retain in a merged company? For the record, your author would retain VW (mainstream), Audi (premium), Porsche (sports cars), Bentley (luxury), Bugatti (hypercar), Alfa Romeo (premium performance), Ferrari (exotic performance), Jeep (SUV/CUV), Ram (trucks) and Fiat Professional (commercial vehicles). Build your own lineup, or just tell me why I'm wrong in Comments.

Toyota has announced a rather small voluntary recall, affecting 5,650 Avalon and Camry sedans from model year 2014. Both gas and hybrid models are included in the action.

This recall focuses on the left front lower suspension arm, which may have a bad bolt connecting it to the ball joint. If the car hits a big enough pothole – a real concern as we head into winter – or suffers a major impact, the two components could separate, at which point steering control would more or less vanish.

According to Toyota, there have been no crashes, injuries or deaths due to this problem. Toyota is notifying owners, who will need to report to dealers for a free replacement lower suspension arm.

Scroll down for the official press release.

McLaren is dropping its alphanumeric model-naming scheme when it comes to its upcoming model to slot into the bottom of the brand's supercar lineup. Unlike the 650S or P1, the vehicle previously known as the P13, is now rechristened with an actual title as the Sport Series.

The announcement comes in conjunction with a somewhat bizarre new teaser video that compares the future supercar to a black swan. It's the, "symbol of a moment that challenges beliefs and turns thinking upside down," according to the clip. That seems like a pretty big promise, but McLaren also confirms that the Sports Series is primed for a global unveiling in the second quarter of 2015 with a carbon-fiber chassis and mid-mounted V8.

Hard facts about the supercar haven't been easy to come by. Company spokesperson Wayne Bruce confirmed to Autoblog this year that the price would be "around two thirds of what a 12C would cost you today." Multiple body styles have also been suggested, including a coupe, convertible and possibly even a larger GT version. Earlier rumors also indicated that the turbocharged V8 might be detuned down to around 450 horsepower, compared to 641 hp from the 650S.

The switch to using a real name for the model rather than a mix of numbers and letters certainly signals it as something different from the rest of the brand. Scroll down to read the McLaren's announcement and check out its rather weird teaser clip.

You think a Mini Cooper is small? The Fiat 500? Smart Fortwo? Those are positively gigantic compared to the Peel P50.

Made on the Isle of Man in the 1960s, the P50 more closely resembles a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe (itself one of the top-selling 'cars' in America). The tiny one-door, three-wheeled vehicle measures less than four and a half feet and (with a 50cc engine) weighs just 130 pounds – easy enough, in other words, to load and unload it from a train car by hand, as these guys did during the recent Manx Heritage Transport Festival. No ramps, no cranes... just a few fellas.

Don't believe us? Watch this video to see it happen. And for a more in-depth piece on the little trike, head on over to BBC Autos.

General Motors could face settlements totaling near $2 billion if US bankruptcy judge Robert Gerber rules that executives knew the company might be liable to owners of cars with faulty ignition switches built before its July 2009 bankruptcy. An additional $500 million, according to calculations by Bloomberg News, could be added to that total for vehicles with bad ignition switches that were built post-bankruptcy.

The big question of whether or not 'New GM' is liable for defects on cars built before its bankruptcy filing will be answered by Gerber, likely early in 2015. The decision will determine if owners of recalled vehicles will be compensated for lost value to vehicles they own due to recall and safety worries. Two separate class-action lawsuits – one on behalf of owners who bought vehicles after the automaker's bankruptcy and one for those who purchased before – hinge on the results of Gerber's ruling.

Importantly, those two class-action suits could trigger further litigation, should Gerber decide that GM's protection from pre-bankruptcy obligations and liabilities isn't completely solid. In other words, this ruling could open a whole floodgate of financial pain for General Motors moving forward – a total that could exceed $2 billion, say Bloomberg. Stay tuned.

Besides the third-quarter sales figures for the Model S this year, the big news from the Tesla investor earnings call yesterday was another delay of the Model X electric SUV. CEO Elon Musk made it clear in his letter to investors that he did not want to "bring a product to market that does not delight customers," and he expounded on this in the call yesterday afternoon.

Musk even named the X's falcon-wing doors as a potential problem.

When Patrick Archambault from Goldman Sachs asked for more details on the Model X delay, Musk said his company would have no real problem making a few great X EVs, but that, "making lots of something consistently that's going to last a long time is extremely hard." Designing the car is easier than figuring out how to actually build the darn thing, he said, and building a lot of them is where Tesla can "really move the needle." We all know that that's what Musk wants to do, and he now says the third quarter of 2015 is when that'll be possible.

Musk even named the X's falcon-wing doors as a potential problem. The powertrain and the chassis are based on the Model S, so that has been sorted out to some degree but, "with the falcon wing door and the second row of seats, ... we're adding some very new stuff that's really not out there, that never really has existed in a way that was useful," Musk said.

Musk's argument that the X should be delayed has a lot to do with what he and the company found out by building the Model S. "We also learned a lesson in manufacturing that you have issues that are sometimes one out of 100, but unless you make 100 of something, you don't see it," he said. "Then you think the car is all good, but actually randomly one out of 100 is wrong, but you don't know necessarily which one out of the 100, then you've got to go look at all 100 cars. So just once you get into volume manufacturing there are just these statistically rare issues, but you really need to make a bunch of something in order to know that it's there. We want to make sure we do that with the X, that's really just a lesson we've learned."

So, despite repeated rumors of potential rivals, Tesla is going to stay the course and bring out the X when it's good and ready. You can read the full transcript of the call here and listen here.

Audi has just dropped another teaser for the A9 Concept it'll be displaying at this month's LA Auto Show. This time around, instead of one static image, we get a tantalizing video of the showcar narrated by new Audi design chief Marc Lichte.

In terms of the A9, we get a better look at the body form than we've yet seen, and we also sneak a peek at its massive, blocky, turbine-style wheels that the conceptual flagship will wear in Los Angeles.

Lichte also takes this video opportunity as a chance to say how-do-you-do to the enthusiast community, commenting not only on his vision for the A9, but also offering up his bona fides in terms of family racing and art heritage. Get to know the man behind the car behind the sheet, here.

Chrysler Group has announced its third-quarter financial results a little later than its crosstown rivals at General Motors and Ford, but the company has reason to celebrate thanks to strong numbers across the board.

The biggest attention-grabber from the automaker is that its net income was up 32 percent in the third quarter to $611 million, compared to $464 million over the same period last year. Modified operating profit was also strong at $946 million – a 10 percent gain. Furthermore, net revenue grew as well to $20.7 billion – 18 percent higher Q3 2013.

Growing sales pushed the strong financials. Chrysler Group sold about 711,000 vehicles worldwide for the quarter, up 18 percent from a year ago. Things looked especially good in the US, where its market share grew to 12.3 percent, versus 11.2 percent in Q3 2013.

While those figures all look rosy, some analysts aren't completely convinced. According to The Detroit Free Press, there is concern that Chrysler Group only has a 4.6-percent profit as a percentage of its sales here, versus 9.5 percent for GM and 7.1 percent for Ford. The Auburn Hills automaker maintains that the discrepancy exists because it sells fewer vehicles than its competitors and therefore spends comparatively more per vehicle on marketing. While Chrysler Group and GM both showed strong financial results for the quarter, Ford posted a 34 percent dip in net income.

Scroll down to read full press release from Chrysler about its Q3 results.

Well, that was quick. A mere 20 months after its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Audi has issued a fairly significant update to its RS Q3 crossover. A light exterior refresh – the most noticeable change is that the grille surround and headlights are now joined – belies more significant changes under the compact crossover's hood.

Power from the 2.5-liter, turbocharged five-cylinder has been boosted nicely from 310 horsepower to 340, while torque has jumped from 309 pound-feet to 332 lb-ft. The result of this extra thrust is that the tiny CUV can now scamper to 62 miles per hour in a seriously quick 4.8 seconds, rather than the original RS Q3's 5.5-second sprint. A new fifth-generation multi-plate clutch is fitted to the seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission, which Audi claims will now deliver even quicker shifts.

Lighter brake rotors with ridiculous eight-piston calipers in the front provide what we imagine is a lot of stopping power, while Audi continues to offer an optional adaptive damper system. 19-inch wheels are standard while 20s are optional.

European pricing for this tiny terror of a crossover start at 56,600 euros, which makes it slightly costlier than the 55,871-euro Mercedes-Benz GLA 45 AMG, its most obvious rival. Scroll down for a brief video and the full press release from Audi.

There's something bizarrely fascinating about Japanese car culture, especially around Tokyo. The metropolis packs people tightly together in a way that would seem to make owning any car tough. And yet, there's still enough enthusiasm around anything with an engine to support everything from wildly tuned bosozoku rides with exhaust pipes reaching toward the sky to seriously fast Porsche and Lamborghini models.

To promote its latest Hero4 camera, GoPro has embarked on a short film series called Adventure of Life in 4K, and the latest installment goes inside Japan's speed scene with some gorgeous cinematography of vibrant vehicles rocketing through the city. It's all mixed over more serene images of Tokyo landscapes that combine to form a mini-documentary that's a feast for the eyes.

After dodging light traffic for more than 10 miles at speeds never exceeding 85 miles per hour, the left lane of the derestricted autobahn ahead of us finally opens wide. This is the opportunity we've been waiting for, and we bury the accelerator against its stop and hold it there. The transmission attached to the turbocharged four-cylinder of our 2016 Audi A6 drops a couple gears and begins an arduous battle against aerodynamic drag.

The sleek sedan cuts through the wind effortlessly up until about 125 mph, after which the speedometer needle slows noticeably as the outside world continues to blur. By 145 mph, there's no longer a discernible feeling of acceleration, yet the bright-orange speedometer needle continues its climb. Finally, the speedometer nearly reaches 160 before we are forced to firmly brake and return to saner speeds because of traffic looming ahead.

Automakers routinely host us in Europe and elsewhere to sample their wares in a much less restrictive driving environment. Which explains why we find ourselves standing in Dresden, Germany, a stunningly beautiful 800-year-old city along the Elbe River, overlooking Audi's latest executive express.

Chrysler's 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 was an absolute sensation from the very moment it was announced, and honestly, how could it not have been? Packing 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, its numbers immediately put every other production muscle car (and many supercars) to shame. Plus, we soon learned that would be wrapped in a package retailing for around $60,000 – a pittance compared to other vehicles offering similar grunt. However, the Hellcat almost never got the chance to rumble under the hood of the Challenger and Charger.

The Hellcat was initially proposed back in 2011, back when Fiat was deciding its future strategy for Chrysler Group, according to Automotive News. At the time, the company was just emerging from its bankruptcy doldrums, and an ultra-high-performance V8 wasn't exactly a must-have item. The program didn't move forward. However, SRT engineers kept fighting, according to AN, and four months later, they received the green light to pull the project off the shelf and continue developing the Hellcat. The muscle car world is certainly better for that decision.

The work of those engineers focused on taking Chrysler's standard 6.2-liter V8 and making it reliably handle all of the extra power from the supercharger. "It came down to micron levels of changes in the crank to be able to withstand the pressures of the engine," said Chris Cowland, director of advanced and SRT powertrain, to Automotive News. The changes amounted to switching out about 91 percent of the parts to make the Hellcat, including some quite minuscule alterations. For example, the washer holding the supercharger pulley is embedded with industrial diamonds to keep it from slipping.

Dodge is hoping to get as many of Hellcats on the road as possible as rolling advertisements for the automaker's engineering prowess and attitude. The next time you see one thundering by, just remember that the project almost didn't happen.